With what can only be described as a middling season unfolding at St James’ Park, many fans will be looking forward to the excitement of a summer of World Cup football. At one point, there was the possibility of as many as eleven Magpies making it to the World Cup Final matches in Russia this summer, but sadly that number has dwindled as the qualification process progressed.
With Paul Dummett of Wales, Rob Elliot and Ciaran Clarke of the Republic of Ireland, and Matt Richie of Scotland all failing to make the finals, England are the only home representative. This means that Jonjo Shelvey and Jamaal Lascelles are Newcastle’s only chance of having a home player in the tournament, and even those chances are pretty slim.
Newcastle could have three players there representing other countries, with Serbia’s free-scoring Aleksandar Mitrovic (who already has six goals from the qualifiers) and Senegal’s Henri Saivet likely to feature, and Belgium’s Matz Sels having an outside chance as fourth-choice keeper.
It’s a big contrast to 2014, when Newcastle had their largest-ever contingent playing in Brazil. The Netherlands, France, Nigeria and Ivory Coast all featured Newcastle players on their sides, with six Magpies making the trip to South America.
Newcastle players have a rich history in the tournament, and Toon teammates have been part of the England World Cup dream since the country first entered the tournament in 1950, when Jackie Milburn took to the field for England and George Robledo played for Chile. To show how times have changed in football, Robledo was the only player at that tournament who did not ply his trade in his home country—quite a contrast to the modern multi-national game.
The Chile player also has the honour of being Newcastle’s first-ever goal scorer at a World Cup, with Ivor Broadis becoming the first to score for England four years later in Switzerland.
Three Magpies—Alf McMichael, Dick Keith and Tommy Casey—made it to the finals in 1958, all playing for Northern Ireland, but this was to be the club’s last outing on the international stage for a long while. There were no Newcastle players at all at the World Cups of 1962, the famous England win of 1966, 1970, 1974 or 1978, and their only representative in 1982 was David McCreery, who had signed on but not yet played for the side.
Things improved in 1986, with Peter Beardsley scoring against Paraguay; and while 1990 had no current Newcastle players, former stars Chris Waddle, Dave Beasant and a famously tearful Paul Gascoigne joined Beardsley in the tournament.
There was another gap for the Magpies in 1994, before Newcastle legend Alan Shearer led England in France in 1998 (supported by Rob Lee and David Batty), followed by Kieron Dyer and Shay Given flying the Newcastle flag for England and Ireland, respectively, in 2002.
Of all the Newcastle players to make it to the World Cup Finals in the past, few will regret it as much as Michael Owen did in 2006, with the player on record as saying that he never should have gone to Germany with England, since his leg was nowhere near the full strength required (due to prior injuries). The tournament-ending knee injury he received essentially ended his career, too, as he was never quite the same player again.
So, what will 2018 have in store for the St. James’ Park faithful? Will we be shouting for Serbia or Senegal, or will we be torn between England and Belgium in their Group G match? Perhaps we will spot a star of the future to add to the squad. One thing is for certain: with the days of Robledo long gone, the world is our oyster when it comes to international players.
